Three Red Deer area men made their first appearance in a Didsbury Provincial Court this morning (Jan. 20) for an attempted robbery of a Cremona motel.

Matthew Douglas Bauer, 35, Jared Corey Matheson, 34, and Harvey James Lee-Bernick, 27, have all been charged with robbery with a firearm. 

They also face a multitude of other charges, says S. Sgt. Chad Fournier, of the Olds RCMP detachment.

On Jan. 16, two men wearing black masks entered a Cremona motel bearing a long barrel firearm and demanded cash.

Failing to get any, they fled the scene with a third man in a black Hyundai Elantra.

The vehicle they were driving went off the road east on Cremona near Range Rd. 34, and they managed to get a lift from a passerby.

Fournier says the person giving them a lift phoned later to help narrow the search.

"Due to the police activity in the area where the vehicle was located, the Good Samaritan called the RCMP and informed that they gave the three suspects a ride," says S.Sgt. Fournier.

It was a widespread search that ended when the suspects were located in an Olds McDonald's restaurant.

"The general public was very helpful with this case and we always ask for the public's help in any crimes that are out there," says Fournier.

He says such incidents are uncommon in Cremona, a village with a population under 500.

"Cremona is a very peaceful village, and stuff like this is very rare in that area."